Kristen on the Issues
SOCIAL SECURITY
Social Security needs to be fixed. For decades, Congress and the President have refused to take action while it has been apparent that there is a problem. That problem has snowballed, and now no one wants to make the tough choices to fix it.
Kristen, like you, knows that ignoring the problem will not make it go away. That just passes on an even bigger problem to our children and grandchildren. That doesn´t pass the Dinner Table Test.
Kristen is committed to protecting our seniors´ benefits. In doing that, it will require not just a band-aid, but a global solution for the future. That´s why Kristen will introduce “Giving Good Government for Generations” once elected. Kristen´s 4Gs Initiative will preserve existing benefits for our seniors, permit selection of graduated benefits for those who want it, and let younger Americans elect to invest in their own retirement. It´s all about flexibility. Old systems don´t fix current challenges. Kristen´s Initiative addresses our current challenges while looking toward the future.
FEDERAL BUDGET
Kristen believes that balancing the federal budget is one of Congress´ most important duties, yet it is the one that has been most ignored. For decades, Congress has played politics with the budget, not made good business decisions, and simply put off the problem – focusing instead on getting re-elected. This is not responsible government.
As a successful businesswoman, the matter is very simple to Kristen. Every year, Congress should create a balanced budget and stick to it. Then, the next cycle, Congress should evaluate the previous budget, revenues, and coming needs, and write a new balanced budget. And stick to it. That´s what Kristen does with her business. That´s what she does, like you, with her family. That´s what she´ll do in Congress.
JOBS AND THE ECONOMY
It´s no secret to Americans who are suffering each day. Our unemployment rate is at record highs, and we are facing the worst economic crisis of our time. We elect leaders to make difficult decisions in historical times like this. Unfortunately, we have seen the President and Congress continue to play political games and point fingers instead of working toward meaningful and effective solutions. The games do nothing to help Americans.
Kristen will take action to create solutions, and put them into place. Job creation is key to growing our economy. Kristen knows that firsthand as a successful businesswoman who has created many jobs for Hoosiers this year. Those newly employed Americans were taken off the unemployment rolls, received health insurance, and now have paychecks.
Kristen´s private efforts have a real and positive impact on the economy. Now, Kristen will take that “know how” and success to Congress. She will introduce legislation to provide tax breaks to employers that hire and retain employees. Instead of punishing prospective employers for not giving benefits to new employees, which only discourages hiring and adds to the problem, Kristen´s plan will incentivize hiring, create jobs, provide more people with health insurance, and put money into the local communities where it is needed.
EDUCATION
As a former High School teacher, Kristen knows education from serving on the front lines. She believes that the success of our future generations is tied to our investment in education. This “investment” is much more than throwing money at a broken system, passing more regulations, and wondering why things haven´t improved – only to throw more money away. That´s just bad business and doesn´t pass the Dinner Table Test.
As an educator, the daughter of two educators, and parent of four children, two of whom have special needs, Kristen knows that learning and quality education is extremely individualized, and begins at home. From there, parents partner with the teachers and schools that know the children, and can give meaningful input on each child´s learning. When re-framed in that way, from local up, the federal government should provide funding, encourage those local relationships, and provide safeguards so that states can create effective schools in response to local needs.
Kristen is confident that this approach will provide better education for all of our children, and allow us to stop throwing money at a one-size-fits-all system that doesn´t work – because one size does not fit all.
HEALTH CARE
As a parent of two children that have a rare, degenerative disease, Kristen has seen the health care system from a unique perspective. There is no doubt that the system is broken. ObamaCare has done nothing but make matters worse. The law takes choices away from patients, reduces quality care, imposes unreasonable financial burdens on employers (which discourages hiring), and fixes nothing.
To those that would disagree, Kristen knows that they have not seen it at work – having lived in hospitals across the country with her kids. For those that are lucky enough to make it into the hospital, which is a hurdle in itself, they often do not receive quality care, necessary tests, medicines, or help after they leave the hospital doors. Kristen and her husband saw many of those patients return, only to go through the same routine again.
Despite ObamaCare and a host of other government health initiatives and benefits, patients are not provided adequate treatment. Kristen does not believe that universal healthcare is the answer. She will move to repeal the law. Instead, Kristen will introduce legislation to encourage public-private partnerships to address the issue. She has already done this with great success on her own – in creating the non-profit, Henry´s Hope, which has assisted families in obtaining medical treatments and diagnosis. Kristen is bringing that success to Congress.
Kristen will also support tort reform. As a former medical malpractice defense attorney, Kristen saw hundreds of cases that lacked merit. The cost of litigation raises insurance premiums, and has made doctors less willing to go the extra step. Kristen believes that tort reform is crucial to addressing the health care crisis.
AGRICULTURE
Kristen knows all too well that Hoosiers have suffered as a result of Congressional game-playing with farm subsidies. Congress has allowed many of those monies to go to wealthy New Yorkers that don´t have crops. That certainly doesn´t pass The Dinner Table Test. This has only hurt the small, local farmers who are the lifeblood of our local communities. Kristen will introduce legislation to make sure the games stop.
DEFENSE AND TERRORISM
Protecting the safety and security of our citizens is the federal government´s primary responsibility. Unfortunately, the problems are not as straightforward as they once were. In addition to traditional conflict on foreign soil, we must now safeguard against domestic attacks on our people and our way of life. Kristen believes that the federal government´s resources must be used to effectively battle our enemies. As it once did, Kristen is committed to making sure that America leads by example. Standing strong for our country – always – sends a message to those that might consider doing harm to us. In effect, proactively avoiding and preventing conflict by simply and consistently standing by our principles is the answer.
IMMIGRATION
Kristen is a strong advocate of global immigration reform. Like many other policy issues, this is an area that the federal government has refused to address in light of an ever-growing problem. Kristen is committed to acting now.
As a people and government, we only can provide services to so many people at once. With this in mind, the federal government has failed to deal with the rising number of illegal immigrants in our borders, and in some cases, refuses to ever take action. So, illegal immigration has skyrocketed, as has the demand for scarce services. Still, the federal government has chosen to do nothing. That doesn´t pass Kristen´s Dinner Table Test.
Kristen will call for a moratorium on new applications for immigrants until the system is fixed. She believes that we can´t keep pushing people through a broken system with the hopes of it resolving itself. Kristen will introduce legislation that will secure our borders, streamline the deportation process, and simplify the complex legal immigration process. If we do it all at once, it will reduce the costs of our immigration process, protect our borders, safeguard our citizens, and keep the dream of so many future Americans alive. But we have to do it all! A piecemeal approach will not work.
OUR VETERANS
Kristen is dedicated to protecting the rights and benefits of our Veterans. They have made, and continue to make, such tremendous sacrifices for our country, and our freedom. Our men and women in uniform deserve our deepest respect and admiration. In Congress, Kristen will make certain that the government does not use the Veterans as a political tool or as scare tactics, as President Obama has done, in the midst of the debt ceiling debate. The Veterans, like the disabled and Social Security beneficiaries, will get their checks. Kristen will not let the federal government hold them hostage.
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